Meet the Artist: The Incredibly Detailed Quilling of Shelly Krzyzewski

Living in the online world as much as I do, at least when it comes to looking at paper art, it's easy to forget that real life is going on outside the world wide web. However, many people choose to not spend their time on social media looking at (and likely being influenced by) the work of others, but instead are focusing on what appeals most to them when it comes to creativity. A fine example would be paper quilling artist Shelly Krzyzewski in South Bend, Indiana. 

 

A framed, highly detailed quilled artwork featuring a cluster of psychedelic-style mushrooms. The mushroom caps are filled with intricate patterns in red, orange, white, and brown, using a variety of quilling techniques. 

 

Shelly, an elementary school teacher with twenty-plus years experience, told me quilling has been on her radar since she was in high school. She enjoyed it then and continues to love it to this day. You'll learn more about her via the interview that follows, but first, let me say I had the pleasure of meeting Shelly several years ago at the annual convention of the North American Quilling Guild (NAQGCON) when it took place here in Delaware. 

 

A vibrant, award-winning quilled landscape depicting a golden wheat field with round hay bales, red poppies and white daisies in the foreground, and a radiant sun setting in a swirling blue sky inspired by Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'. 

 

It was impressive to see her eclectic work in person, which is incredibly precise and detailed, not to mention she continually challenges herself to use many techniques, often within the same piece, and enjoys sharing her knowledge via teaching. In fact, I asked her how she created these hay bales and she quickly replied with this explanation: 

 

A work-in-progress shot on a green cutting mat showing how the quilled hay bales were made. Bundles of curved brown paper strips are sliced with a sharp orange rotary cutter to create the textured effect.


"Here’s a picture of how I made the hay bales. After gluing and pinning curved bundles of strips on a cork board, I used an incredibly sharp rotary cutter to slice and shape them."  

 

The piece, by the way, took First Place at the most recent NAQGCON. 

 

 MEET SHELLY 

 

Quilling artist Shelly Krzyzewski smiling, standing next to her 'Four Seasons' quilled tree artwork, which shows a single tree transitioning from spring blossoms to summer green, autumn colors, and winter snowflakes.

Have you studied art or are you self-taught? 

 

I have no formal art education, I’m just crafty. I was the kid who always received a new box of markers and fresh pad of paper for every birthday.

 

A three-dimensional quilled Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) sugar skull mask. The white mask is intricately decorated with red, teal, and black quilled patterns, a spiderweb on the forehead, and crowned with red quilled roses.

  

When did you first come across quilling? 

 

I was introduced to quilling in high school when an English teacher had us make snowflake ornaments, although she mistakenly called it “scrolling.” I liked the project and didn’t think about it much afterward, but my mom hung that little snowflake on our Christmas tree every single year. 

 

After college I went to Hobby Lobby and asked for scrolling supplies, but had no luck finding what I needed. A couple of years later I happened to walk down a craft aisle in the local teacher supply store and a package of paper strips caught my eye. It was labeled Quilling Strips so I bought it, went home, and Googled quilling. Soon I bought more supplies online, fell head over heels for quilling, and the rest is history. 

 

A square, framed quilled artwork of a dense floral bouquet on a black background. The piece features multi-petaled flowers in oranges and blues, surrounded by green leaves and small white blossoms. 

 

How did you learn to quill? 

 

I learned to quill 18 years ago from Alli Bartkowski’s book, Paper Quilling for the First Time. I made nearly every project in the book. It really gave me a great foundation for different techniques and applications from cards to 3D figures to framed art.  

 

 

A quilled portrait of a woman with flowing brown hair that incorporates nautical themes. A tall ship, a ship's wheel, octopus tentacles, starfish, and roses are intricately woven into her hair.

What do you love most about quilling? 

 

 

I love it because it’s simple, yet it looks very complex. To this day it amazes me how much I still adore a basic flower made of five teardrops. At the same time, however, I love big framed projects. It’s incredible how any photo, clipart, drawing, pattern, or painting can be interpreted into a new work using various quilling techniques. Although it can be frustrating, I enjoy the problem solving that goes into figuring out how to best represent an image in quilling.  

 

A quilled still life of a vibrant floral arrangement in purples and pinks, with large green leaves. The quilled bouquet sits in a woven basket on a surface draped with real white lace.


What are your favorite techniques? 

 

 

I’m somewhat known for folded roses... I credit Claire Choi’s book, The Art of Paper Quilling and her YouTube video for the technique. I also like combing and husking. 

 

The real magic happens when many techniques and shapes are combined to make one big project. My projects have originated from photos, clip art, embroidery patterns, tattoo designs, coloring pages, Zentangles, diamond paintings, watercolors, quilt patterns, and postage stamps. I love to take a picture and translate it into quilling. 

  

A bright quilled bouquet centered around a large, detailed sunflower with golden-yellow petals and a dark, textured center. It is surrounded by pink flowers, purple lavender sprigs, and green leaves against a magenta background.


And do you have favorite supplies? 

 

I’ve always been partial to Lake City quilling strips and still have a decent amount in my stash, but since the company closed I’ve adapted to other brands such as Quilled Creations, Craft Harbor, Hunter Creek, and Paper Filigree. My favorite tools are the Japanese fine-slotted tool and the extra-long fine slotted tool from Maggie Nakatani.

 

(Ann's note: Maggie can be contacted via Instagram direct message to order; she is in Japan and speaks English. You can read about my personal experience with her shop's fine-slotted tool here.)  

 

A cheerful, quilled depiction of a winking Santa Claus with a large, swirling white beard, rosy cheeks, a red hat with a fluffy pom-pom, and a sprig of holly.  

 

Do you teach quilling? 

 

I teach a class or two every year at the NAQGCON. I’ve taught folded roses, husking, combing, vortex coils, paper beads, and more.  I also wrote a quilling book published by Annie’s Paper Crafts titled The Four Seasons of Quilling (out of print, but the Kindle version is available on Amazon). 

 

It features the seasons tree I made in 2013 for the annual convention competition, plus greeting cards for each season. The book includes detailed instructions on how to make various flowers, leaves, and other elements to create your own seasons tree. 

 

The book cover for 'Four Seasons of Quilling' by Shelly Krzyzewski. It features her framed four seasons tree artwork, with several seasonal greeting cards displayed in front. 

 

Tell us more about your involvement in the North American Quilling Guild. 

 

I have been a member of the NAQG since 2009 and have attended all fourteen conferences since 2010. I hosted the conference in 2013, took over the role of Competition Coordinator in 2014, achieved accreditation in 2017, and also in 2017 I was asked to join the NAGQ Board of Directors. 

 

 

A side-by-side comparison showing two ornate, antique-style quilled panels. On the left is Shelly's meticulous re-creation, and on the right is the original antique piece, both featuring gilded paper florals in a vase on a red background.
Re-creation on left; antique quilling on right 

  

 

The Guild has really taken the somewhat solitary sport of quilling and connected me to other people across the country and across the world.  At my first conference, at our dinner table alone I sat with members from California, Canada, Puerto Rico, England, and Japan. 

 

It’s one thing to make your own work, post pictures online, and see others' work online but it’s so much more authentic to meet other quillers, see their work in person, and learn from one another on the spot. The Guild has given me more experiences than I could have ever imagined. Joining the NAQG has really been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. 

  

A quilled artwork of a bull or cow skull decorated with a vibrant floral crown. The skull is created with beige and brown paper using a husking technique, and the crown features purple and pink flowers with green leaves.
  

Do you enjoy other arts and crafts? 

 

I’ve tried many other crafts such as crochet, punch needle, boondoggle, friendship bracelets, and scrapbooking, but I always come back to quilling!

 

A huge thank you to Shelly for sharing her paper quilling journey and stunning art with us. 

 

 

All Things Paper is an Amazon affiliate. 

 


Ann Martin
Ann Martin

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